The Gamer's Quarter

Slonie · . Joined: 28 Nov 2006 Posts: 141

Don't have time to write a real post but posting in support of voxels. One day, voxels will rise up and take their rightful place as the 3D graphic generator of choice, driving triangles back to the sea!

Or something.

Also don't get the idea that Shadow Ops was a particularly good game or anything! But it was at least good enough to make me play through the whole thing (whatever that means). I had the added advantage of being able to complain to my friend every time I found something stupid. Usually the answer was "not enough time/money" or "the producer thought it would be more fun this way."

Such as, when you start a level that takes place immediately after the last one, story-wise, and you get a totally different weapon loadout. No explanation given, except somebody thought it would be more fun to have a shotgun there. Or the fact that the cutscenes were all done as CGI with pseudo-in-game assets by an outsourced studio in Russia, if I recall. With so much lead time in the production that if something didn't match between the game and the cutscenes there was no way to fix it.

Also Lols: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bV0EspfV4qY

Bonus Ninja Edit link to another hilarious cutscene: http://youtube.com/watch?v=wlb7xsPIdcA

Wait wait wait, now that I'm following the related links I just can't stop linking...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QCnYsEb4bSg

Incidentally I tried playing this game again recently and I couldn't get past the first level. I could try it again, but only as an ICGC-type experiment. I've been meaning to play through Halo (1) again, actually...
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-Slonie

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Well put, good sir!
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Thanks!

I'm watching the on-rails intro to Gunman Chronicles! It is rubbish! It's so derivative of Half-Life's intro it's like a bad joke. Also, it brings up a major bugbear I have about sci-fi FPS games, namely DEVELOPERS NOT KNOWING WHAT COLOUR SPACE IS

Here's the exam they should give to anyone who wants to make a game of this type again.

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

But space is cool and even cooler when it's got cool colours!!! So it's cooler than the Half-Life 1 intro!!!

I really did enjoy some of the little things they did with the intro, but yeah, you can't get past how much of a complete rip-off it is.
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

It's funny, I have no problem with films or games that depict sound in space. Colours, though! Don't get me started! It's called dark matter for a reason, jackoff! Also, you hear people talking about the majesty of space- the non-stop gay disco of space, though! That's a new one on me! Except when I play your shitty computer games!!

I know the swathes of colour are meant to be nebulas, but they're really overused, not to mention ugly. Space is beautiful!

Also neither a camera nor the human eye can look at the light side of a nearby planet or other large celestial body without underexposing the surrounding stars and thereby rendering them invisible! This is something that passed by pretty much everyone except Stanley Kubrick, which is one of the reasons why 2001 is visually such a cut above every other sci-fi movie (fact)!.

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

harvey hates 2001

I liked Dark Sector more when it had a rad sci-fi setting. The trailer back then had more depth than any of this mutant nonsense they've got going on now.

More games need actual nebulas as settings.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

I haven't even heard of that game, just looked it up... eh sounds like it could be ok?
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Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

No, no, the new one sounds "okay". The original looked great. Smart writing and setting, neat art design, awesome score, cool stealth gameplay (They said they wanted a character more in the Wolverine mould, the kind that could afford to get caught and was more of a hunter). Of course, that's just from this one trailer, so who knows how else they could have fucked it up?

But the new one was made to compete with Gears of War, apparently. Poor choice.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

I agree with you on those points. I still think a game with an exclusive nebula setting would be neat.

Someone needs to make an FPS taking place in an actual, physical asteroid belt.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Duke Nukem Galaxy?

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

Duke Nukem Can See Forever

Duke Nukem is Full of Stars
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Watching that clip, I'm amazed that game developers still aren't in the practise of hiring scriptwriters. 'The waters did recede, and we burst forth like seeds?' That's worse than 'I don't care what you heard about me, a bitch can't get a dollar out of me'.

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

that line made me think of ejaculation!
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Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

Harvey, what are you babbling about?
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mucf3kdVzes

That clip. The writing is terrible.

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

I mean 'The waters receded and we burst forth like seeds' might have been serviceable. But adding that 'did' in there to affect a literary air was a bad move. For one thing it makes the guy sound like Miguel from Fat Chicks in Party Hats. OH! I DID FART! For another, it means you've got a 'seed' sound at the end of each line, so it sounds like he's trying to talk in rhyme like Yogi Bear. Don't even get me started on the mixed metaphors.

Even if the professional writer's writing sucks, it can't suck much worse than that. Hiring writers should be standard practise if you're going to have a lot of dialogue. You wouldn't get a programmer to do the music or an artist to do the programming.

Winged Assassins (1984) · Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 9:22 pm Post subject:

Fuck, the only story you really need from a FPS is "monsters bad, heavy ordinance good, oh snap! they've invaded, get your ass to Mars".

Yay! Community Chest III for DooM II is out. I just spent five hours doing nothing but playing it and I'm not even through the fucking thing yet. That makes me a saddo as I couldn't think of anything else better to do with my time. There are two more out which are worth a look even though the first one is really hit and miss. Community Chest 2 is only slightly hit and miss, probably less than CC3 so it gets my pick of the three, if only for the map The Mucous Flow.
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Winged Assassins (1984) · Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 10:09 pm Post subject:

Harveyjames I totally dig what my homies Valve do with games. If you replace Mars with science base you've basically got Half-Life and that is fly with me.
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

I guess I'm the only person for whom bad writing can ruin the experience, then... That Dark Matter clip just made me think 'if the best these guys can come up with is "The waters did recede, and we burst forth like seeds" then there's probably nothing here for me in this game', which I guess will sound odd to most people since game design and screenwriting are two very separate skills. My thought process goes something like 'if they're dumb enough to fuck up screenwriting so badly, they're probably too dumb to have had good ideas in other areas'. It really taints the rest of the game for me.

Then again I enjoy The Phantom Menace! Maybe I should think this over!

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Actually, I also hate it when games have shitty dailouge and such which ruin the overall experience. I think most games could benefit from drastically reduced dailouge. I just started playing Gears of War and I sure wish the dailouge wasn't cheesy crap, since the main story doesn't seem terrible.

Anyway, I need to post about one more FPS game before I go to bed (hitting the hay early today) but... which one???
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Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

This thread is actually making me a little depressed. It's reminding me of so many interesting and fun games from the past, and games today... I don't know, nothing has really excited me for awhile. I mean, I bought a 360 mainly for Marathon and Doom (and bioshock and Halo 3). The last time I was really excited was when I got a Wii because, finally, something new and exciting! That didn't last long though, what with no games on the system. I dunno. Is it just me, or a games getting too polished? If you know what I mean. Becoming an increasingly jaded gamer ITT.

Anyway, one more game... I think I found one that's kinda interesting.
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Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

I was researching christian games for an article i lost interest in eons ago, there is a surprising amount of christian games and even more surprisingly most are FPS games! Most are the kind of crap you would expect; games that look and feel like they were made in 3D GAME CREATION kits and released on the Valusoft label (Something Awful reviewed a couple).

But there was Eternal War: Shadows of Light which caught my attention more than the others because they actually licensed the Quake 1 engine!

Here's the press release:

Pink Teddy Bear · . Joined: 24 Aug 2007 Posts: 180

Aside from simply being just a shitty game, the dialogue in Heavy Metal 2 was what turned me away from the game. It's so long and full of garbage, that I can't possibly expect the game to be any better. Even the modeling is ridiculous. Your main character has a stomach, that leads into boobs. I'm not even kidding, and you'd have to look at her model to get exactly what I'm saying, but it's pretty much, head, neck, boobs, stomach. It's all just too shitty for me to continue remembering.

I guess you could say I'm kind of finicky in that matter. I typically first judge the rest of the game based on its story. If the story is too generic, that doesn't really bother me, I actually enjoy generic. But when a story is just pure shit, that doesn't bode well with me.

dhex · Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 9:27 am Post subject:

a proposal: writers need to study the bad action films of the 80s to learn how to write good "bad" dialogue instead of going for "in a world in a place in a time" style mac gruff bullhockey.

far cry got that hells of right.

"AND I HAD A RASH...SO I PUT SOME OINTMENT ON IT...AND IT GOT BETTER!"

i mean everyone's like lolz gordon can't talk none but seriously has a better design choice ever been made? i think not.
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Pink Teddy Bear · . Joined: 24 Aug 2007 Posts: 180

I think people who complain about mute main characters, are people who are just pissed that they can't complain about how stupid the main character sounds.

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

I don't get why people say they can't get attached to mute characters. Because they obviously do. Call of Duty 4 actually plays with emotion a number of times, from what little I've played.

dhex, you really should play it. It's the best example of gaming story-telling done right since Half-Life 2. That and you get to play not one, but two badasses of pure British pedigree.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

Winged Assassins (1984) · Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 4:27 pm Post subject:

dhex · Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 4:36 pm Post subject:

i will play call of duty 4 at some point in the future, like next month sometime.
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Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

dracko have you read my thing yet, tell me how much it sucks already, GOD.
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Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

Yes, I have. I'll re-read it, okay?
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

whatever, just tell me if the ideas are interesting or not.

i hate doing early shifts, i'm always in such a shitty mood for the rest of the day.

I FEEL LIKE PICKING A FIGHT

BUT I'M TOO TIRED TO ACTUALLY FIGHT
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Winged Assassins (1984) · Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 6:54 pm Post subject:

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

They also made UPRISING which was a pretty swell game, though Battlezone was better.

Also, lol regarding the gerbil remark. I guess the soldiers looked pretty cool! I can't remember it too well. I didn't bother finishing the game, even though I paid for it when I had hardly any money.

Man, I didn't know it had multiplayer! I guess it would be an obvious addition, but still. I think the game was already pretty dead regardless.
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Winged Assassins (1984) · Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 7:00 pm Post subject:

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Halo 3 also used sphincer doors and I'm sure I've seen them in a few other games.

THE NEW LENSFLARE?
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Winged Assassins (1984) · Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 7:06 pm Post subject:

Depends how bright the light is.
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Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Oh Rero, you are such a card!
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Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

Goatse also anal shotgun.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Oh right, one of the UT games had that goatse reference, hey.

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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

That's brilliant. They missed out the wedding ring, though.

Winged Assassins (1984) · Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 4:23 am Post subject:

I am diving into my bag of now obscure games I can post about.

Montezuma's Return. Yes it is a sequel to Montezuma's Revenge done in the first person platform style.From what I can remember form the demo you ran around, climbed on ropes, punched things with your fists and when you looked down you could see your feet. This was a first in gaming that would be followed by some other games I can't recall like Trespasser, if your tits weren't in the way. Montezuma's Return is probably a good game, it's probably a bad game but I can't be arsed recalling if I liked it or not. Half a cheek from me.

Deus. No, not Deus Ex, this came first and was a sort of sequel to Robinson's Requiem which I never played but liked the idea. When it was announced I thought that Deus Ex was a sequel to this but further information dashed my hopes. In this game you are a bounty hunter and must survive on an alien planet whilst killing things and doing survival stuff. Like injecting chemicals into your eyes (this is a lie). Like the game In the last paragraph I've only played the demo but got killed by a mess of polygons after turning left and walking for a bit. It also didn't run too well on my at the time PC so that really turned me off of the game. You should probably check it out if you like injecting chemicals into your eyes and getting killed by what possibly are monsters whenever you turn to the left and walk for a bit. Compelling.

Robinson's Requiem. I haven't played this one but the game sounds a lot more fun on MobyGames than it does on Underdogs. Possibly you can inject chemicals into your eyes but you probably won't get killed by polygons since there are sprites instead.
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

So do people still play Team Fortress 2?